BLOG 23: BUTT TIGHTENING LOWER BACK EXERCISES

The following exercises have both physical and psychological benefits. They are designed to lift, tighten, and shape your rear end, and in the process strengthen your lower back muscles, lessening pain in that area. A tight shapely behind is good for more than attracting and keeping lovers. It helps support your lower back as well. And it makes you feel pretty good about yourself, with all those extra eyes checking you out as you pass by.

THE BUTT

Culturally big butts are all the rage now, and it’s comforting to posses that which is sought after by others. But imagine the potential mess when time and gravity get through with that extra muscle and flesh. Kind of a, “bigger they are the bigger they fall,” scenario. If you don’t specifically target-exercise the gluteus maximus and surrounding muscles, chances are 90 percent that you will end up with a droopy, flattened, jello-shaking or cellulite-ridden exterior. But if you exercise the area regularly, faithfully, 3-4 times a week, there is no reason why you can’t have the same butt at 60 and beyond, as you had at 25. It might even look better after a regular course of these exercises.

THE LOWER BACK

You can’t do much in life without the support of your lower back. Back pain is complained about across the age spectrum, by the young, the old, and the in-between. It seems that no one is immune to the problem. When you think about it you realize that the lower back doesn’t get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. It is crunched into a sitting or standing position for most of the day. Suddenly you make a demand on it, like support to lift a window air condition. Then the spasms and pain begin, because the muscles were too weak to respond properly.

Lower back pain can be triggered by many things, including overuse, injury, vertebrae problems, fractures, osteoarthritis, and spinal conditions. A large percentage of these conditions can be helped or eliminated simply by strengthening the lower back through regular exercise, because most lower back pain stems from weak musculature being over taxed. The following exercises will not only tone and tighten your rear, they will strengthen you lower back muscles.

THE EXERCISES

For all exercises, it’s better to start with a lower number of repetitions per leg, say 12, and work up to the recommended set of 25 for each exercise. When you reach 25 repetitions per leg, which is one set, you can extend yourself by adding another set of 25 repetitions. Work out on a carpet or other floor padding that cushions and protects your elbows, hands, back, and knees. Don’t work out on a bare floor of any kind unless you have no other choice.

STAIR KICK

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. With your weight on the right knee, lift the left leg off the floor. With the left knee still bent, bring the leg forward under your chest, and then swing it back until your leg is straight out behind you with your toes pointed.

Continue to bring the leg forward as far as you can under your chest, and then swing it back until it’s straight out behind you. You’ll get into a kind of rhythm of swinging it forward and back. Be gentle in your movements. Don’t exaggerate, don’t force. Don’t raise your leg higher than your hips, when you do the back swing. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

NOTES

► This is the most important butt exercise. If you do none of the others, at least make sure you do this one regularly.

► This works well because it duplicates the movements of climbing and descending stairs. If you live in a house with a staircase, you can enhance your workout by going up and down them 12-25 times each day, all at once as a set exercise, in addition to your regular daily use of the stairs.

► The best weapon against the crimes of time on your behind is the bicycle, stationary or real life. For stationary, use the upright where you sit straight and slightly forward, with no back support. At the gym I notice older members queuing up to use the sit down bicycle with back support, while there are upright machines available. They mistakenly perceive that the bicycles with back support are easier to use. Not true. The back support bike has you moving your legs in a lateral motion, across gravity. So even with inertia working your way, you don’t get the full benefits of gravity helping you. The upright bike has you moving your legs vertically, so that when inertia is added, the whole process is easier. It’s just physics. I’ve tried both, and though it’s counterintuitive, the upright bike gives a more butt-effective workout with less effort.

HALF HYDRANT

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. With your weight on the right knee, and keeping your left leg bent, lift the left leg off the floor and move it out and away from your body, to the side—but not too far out, about 45 degrees—and then swing it back in. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

NOTES

► Along with the Full Hydrant below, this exercise can make you appear 5-7 pounds thinner after about a week of regular sets of repetitions, even without actual weight loss. It does this by altering and narrowing the curvature of the hips. It gives a more athletic, leaner look to the body. If you like an hourglass, round-hip figure, you may want to avoid this exercise. But if you need to look thinner fast, this exercise can get you into a smaller dress size without drastic dieting. With drastic dieting you could probably drop two sizes.

FULL HYDRANT

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. With your weight on the right knee, lift the left leg off the floor and move it out and away from your body, stretching it out until the leg is straight to the side with toes pointed. Touch the floor or the air near the floor with your toes, before returning to the starting position.

After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat. Be gentle when stretching your leg to its fullest extent. Try hard to make the full extension without forcing it.

NOTES

► Along with the Half Hydrant above, this exercise can make you appear 5-7 pounds thinner after about a week of regular sets of repetitions, even without actual weight loss. It does this by altering and narrowing the curvature of the hips. It gives a more athletic, leaner look to the body. If you like an hourglass, round-hip figure, you may want to avoid this exercise. But if you need to look thinner fast, this exercise can get you into a smaller dress size without drastic dieting.

BUMPER

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Lean forward until your weight is on your forearms, with your hands pointing forward, and your butt sticking up. Keep your head down and look at the floor.

2.With your weight on the right knee, raise your bent left leg off the floor, moving it upward until the front of your upper leg is parallel to the floor, and the bottom of your foot is facing the ceiling. Make sure your lower leg is kept vertical. If you can see yourself in a mirror, your leg should be in an L shape.

3. Drop your knee slightly below the level of your butt. Then, bump your foot up toward the ceiling, purposefully using your butt and the back of your leg to lift. Drop it back down, slightly below parallel and repeat. Don’t lift your leg above the level of your butt, and make sure your foot is always facing the ceiling throughout. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

BUMPER STRETCH

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Lean forward until your weight is on your forearms, with your hands pointing forward, and your butt sticking up. Keep your head down and look at the floor.

2. With your weight on the right knee, raise your bent left leg off the floor until your upper leg is parallel to the floor, and your toes are facing the ceiling. If you can see yourself in a mirror, your leg should be in an L shape.

3. Extend your leg fully, out and back, with your toes pointed, then return it to the bent position with your toes facing the ceiling. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

BOUNCE

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Lean forward until your weight is on your forearms, with your hands pointing forward, and your butt sticking up. Keep your head down and look at the floor.

With your weight on the right knee, lift your left leg and stretch it all the way out straight behind you. With toes pointed, bounce the leg up and down a short distance, making sure not to lift it higher than your butt. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

TRIANGLE

Instructions:

Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Stretch your left leg out straight to the side with the inner part of the foot flat on the floor.

2. Lean on your right forearm. Use your left arm to brace yourself on the floor. Lift the left leg off the floor, keeping the inner side of the foot parallel to the floor. Bob the leg up and down above the floor, and not touching it. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

SIDE L KICK

Instructions:

The L exercises are difficult to do. If you body won’t cooperate, you will do fine with just the other exercises.

1. On the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Lift your left leg, which is still bent at the knee, all the way out and up, until the inside of the leg is parallel to the floor and forming a 90 degree angle with the floor.

2. Holding your inner leg parallel to the floor, kick your leg out, away from your body, gently, until it is fully extended to the side. Then return the leg to the bent position. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

BACK L PUSH

Instructions:

The L exercises are difficult to do. If you body won’t cooperate, you will do fine with the just other exercises.

1. Start on the floor, doggy style, supporting yourself with your bent knees and your hands. Lift your left leg, which is still bent at the knee, all the way out and up, until the inside of the leg is parallel to the floor and forming a 90 degree angle with the floor.

2. Holding your inner leg parallel to the floor, push your leg back, gently, until it is fully extended behind you. Then return the leg to the bent position and repeat. After your repetitions, switch legs and repeat.

WAIST BEND

Instructions:

Stand with feet should length apart, holding a 5 pound weight with both hands centered in front of you.

While bending at the waist, slowly lower the weight to the floor. While still bent over lift the weight to your chest, and return it to the floor.

Slowly straighten up, bringing the weight with you, until you are in the starting position with the weight centered in your hands in front of you. Repeat.

NOTES

► You should start with 6 repetitions of the Waist Bend. If you want to challenge yourself, you can work your way up to 12 repetitions, adding more sets of 12, with one minute rest periods between sets.

► If you have really bad lower back pain start with a smaller weight, something like two pounds. If you’re really bad off, you can use no weight in the beginning, just try to bend over to touch the floor and then raise both hands to your chest, back down to the floor and then straighten up. You can also increase to a 10 or 15 pound weight.

Please be nice to each other, and look for my next blog: Blog 24: Flu, where I tell you how to stop an outbreak of any strain in just hours.

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